Ignition means for internal combustion engines



July 19, 1932. P. M. BRUNER 1,868,273

IGNITION MEANS FOR INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINES Filed Dec. 9, 1929FIElj-a \l 46 FIE-3%. 37 5 2 45 INVENTOR.

44 P19555210 M. BRUNEI;

ATTQRNEY.

Patented July 19, 1932 UNITED j STATES PATENT F CE-- a PRESTON m.BRUNER, or SAN FRANCISCO, onznrroruwm IGNITION MEANS FORINTERNALcoMBUsrIoN nnqmns Application mm December 9, 1929. serial No. 41 2 ,729.

power unit and often causes considerable V trouble due to shortingof thewiring, battery troubles, dead or fouled spark plugs and vari 5 ousother causes. Q- 7 r In the present system, all spark plugs areeliminated and the compressed charges in the cylinders are fired. insequence by means of a previously fired hot charge of gas. I

In order that the present system may be operated, it is necessary thatelectrical means be first employed to ignite a compressed charge andthis function is. accomplishedby the use of a hot wire which ispreferably constantly energized. v

a In general, the device of the present invention comprises an incasedtiming rotor having ports therein, adapted, iwhen theengine I isrunning,- to continuously bypass, or trans- 3 fer, a charge of hot gasfroma, firing cylinder to the next successive cylinder having acompressed charge thereinin readiness or charges in the' cylindersthereof is accomplished by the introduction of aportion of a hot chargeofgas from a preceding cylinder into succeeding ones in sequential orderof Another objectof the invention is the provision of an ignition'systemof the class indicated which eliminates the use of spark" plugs in eachcylinder of the engine, thereby more efficient generally. a Stillanother object of theinvention is the provision of an ignition'systemfthat is especially adaptable to aeroplane engines,

since such a system avoids toa' large extent Q5 the possibility offailure of the "electrical ignition'means at crucial times. a

The invention possesses othe'robjects and features of advantage, certainof which, to-

gether with the foregoing, will be more fully 70 set forth in, thefollowing description of the preferred form of the invention,and beillustrated in the accompanying drawing form ing part of thisspecification, in which similar a reference characters refer to likeparts, 5

throughout. It is to be;understo0d that I p i The accompanying firing,to fire that particular compressed chargeJ v The system of the presentinvention, of course, requires the use of electrical ignition means, ashereinbefore stated, and this means wire, preferably the latter, inorder that, the

40 engine may be started initially. However,

so soon as the first cylinder, which may be V vehicle engine; mayconsist of a slngle sparkplug, ora hot do not limit myself to' theshowing made by the said drawing and description, as I may adoptvariations ofthe preferred formwithin the scope" of my invention as setforth in '3 the appended claims; Y

drawing illustrates the invention,inwhicht; I

Figure 1 is a diagrammatic plan'view of I, an internalcombustion'engine, showing the g5 improved system' as applied-to a.mOtor- V FigureQ-is anelevationillustrating the piping system leading tothe various cylinders of the engine. 7 i z 51 Figure n3 is arconsiderably enlarged plan view illustrating the 'rotor and rotorcasing per se, theview being indicated by theline' Figure 4 is avertlcal sectional view. of the 1 rotor and rotor casing and shows theelectrical meansfor initiallyigniting a charge of comp'resse' 'gas'asdelivered therotor transfer remand v Figure5 a broken planvi ewof co ver1 00 l rendering the systemmuch morereliableand a i plate for the rotorcasing and illustrating the electrical connections for energizing thehot wire in the firing chamber.

Referring to the drawing in detail, and

' particularly toFigure 1 thereof, it will be ob served that the devicehas been shown in the said drawing asrapplied to a motor-vehlcle engine10, comprising the usual cylinder block "11, cylinders 12, and theusualspark plug Openings 13. I V 7 In the application of thej present-systemI to new motors itwould bethe preferable practise to encase the rotor inthe cylinder 7 block, however, as here shown, the device has 7' Thetiming distributer, or rotor, is in been illustrated as a separate unitand as ex ternally fitted to the motor block.

dicated, generally, by the numeral 14, and consists of a circular casinghavlng an 111-.

teriorly finished chamber 15 adapted for the reception of the timingrotor proper 16.

, firing order of l, 5, 3, 6, 2, 4, however, it is Thecasingof the rotoris provided with The engine, as herein illustrated, has a to beunderstood that the device may be adapted to any engine firing order, asem-i bodied in variousengineconstructions.

a plurality of radially arranged and equally spaced, bosses 17, 18,19,20, 21and2 2, each having a port communicating with the ini ter'iorof the rotor chamber, as clearly indicated in Figure- 3.- ,Thisarrangement, of

course, isfor a six cylinder engine,'and,- in

i the constructionshown, a pipe 23, leads to insulating material,suchas-hard'rubber;

The 'rotor casing 14 is provided with a spider 'c'onsisting'of a ring 38which supports the casing'l36 carrying the brushes 34 and 35, thespiderf37 being secured tojthe rotor casing-14 in any. suitable manner,as .by "means of screws 39, as clearly indicated,

Figure 5.

The rotor is preferably air cooled and provisionis made for'cooling thesame by means of a'iplurality o'ffa n'blades iO and an. additional fan41 mounted upon the driving shaft {42, as clearly indicatedin Figure 4.I

' The rotor also embodies a transferring or V by passing port 43, whichmay be arcuate or V-sha'ped in configuration and which'communicates Vthe central bore 29 thereof 012 2 e Inan gn t on dezvice for internalcom-- ybllstlonengines, as claimed in claim 1 0001- and any pair of thepipes 23' to 28 inclusive of the system. 7 V

Ignition means is provided in the central chamber 29 and, as here shown,consists of a resistance coil 44 which is electrically connected incircuit to the contact rings 32- and 33-, which in turn, areelectrically connected by means of binding posts included ina suitablecircuit 45 controllable bymeans of a switch 46, as clearly indicated inFigure .1. p

The rotorimay'bedriven by means of a drive shaft 47 having gearedconnection to the shaft 42 and operated through the agency of anysuitable moving part of the engine and geared to rotate at one-half ofthe speed of the crank-shaft thereof.

In operation: a Assuming that the engine is dead and that it is desiredto start the-same, the usual starter, of course, being used to turntheengine over, the while the ignition element has been 1 energized byany suitable electricalmeans to producea highly heated resistanceelement, the rotor will be rotated accordingly and the port 43 willfollow around until a particular 7 7 7 cylinder now under compressionisfired by r said ignition element, this firing oi the charge beingaccomplished, by virtue of the fact that a portion of the compressedcharge fromsaid cylinder has been forced into any particular line of thesystem.

The various lines 23,19, 25,26, 27 and 28 leadfrom the spark plugopeningsin the engineblock to the rotor casingand are secured to thesaid engine block in ner'.

,Due to the extreme heat of the exploded any suitable man- .charge atthe instant of firing, and this hot chargebeing injected into the rotorat this high temperature and transferred to the next cylinder undercompression, it is assured that these charges 'ofhot. gases will ignitethe hlghly mflammable gases under compression,

the firing beingin sequential order.

. Having- 1 thus described my invention, 1.

claim and desire to secure by Letters Paten of the United States, thefollowing; I l 1. ignition device for an internal combustion enginecomprising a rotor having a central firing chamber electric ignitionmeans projecting into said chamber and secured to said rotor, a circularcasing for" said rotor, a-spidersecured to therperiphery ofsald'casing,contacts carried by the spider and adapted to energize the ignitionmeans, sald casing having a series of openings there: in spacedperipherally thereof, said rot-or hav ng a gas passage comprising tworadial arms communicating with the 'firing'cham ber and adapted toestablish communication between two 7 adj acent .openings upon; rota-'.rotor and means for rotating the tion. of the ing means forming a partof the rotor and rotating therewith.

3. In a device of the class described, a tim ing elementcomprising arotor, a casing for said rotor, a plurality of pipe lines communieatingtherewith, said rotor embodying an axial firing chamber, a spark plug111 sald chamber, a radially disposed V-shaped port communlcatingrespectively with said spark V plug chamber and two of said pipe lines,and means for rotating said rotor.

4. An ignition device for an internal combustion engine, comprising arotor, a casing for said rotor, a plurality of radially dis-- posed gaspassages leading outwardly from said casing, a gas passagethrough saidrotor,

said last named gas passage having twobranches terminating in spacedopenings in the periphery of the rotor, the spaces between the openingsbeing substantially the same as the spaces between the gas passages inthe casing, and means for rotating the rotor.

5. In an ignition device for an internal combustion engine, a rotor, anaxial firing chamber in said rotor, a single gas passage in said rotorcomprising two radial passages communicating with said firing chamberand terminating in the periphery of the rotor, a casing having aplurality of gas pipes connected thereto and leading from the interiorthereof, said gas pipes being adapted to be placed in communication withthe cylinders of said engine, the distance between the adjacent gas pipeconnections being substantially the same as the distance between theterminals of the branches of the gas passage, and means for rotating therotor.

In testimony whereof, I hereunto aflix my signature.

PRESTON M. BRUNER-

